[Adopted 7-29-1976]
The Town Board hereby promulgates this set of rules in accordance with
Chapter 578 of the Laws of 1974.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See §§ 85 through 89 of the Public
Officers Law.
The Town Clerk is hereby designated as the Records Access Officer of
the Town of Massena.
Persons seeking public records shall make application to the Records
Access Officer, upon the application form supplied by such Officer, in the
event that such records are not readily available.
The Records Access Officer is hereby directed to make available, to
persons requesting records, those public records which, by law, are required
to be made available for public inspection and copying. In the event that
the request for public records interferes with the operation of the office
of the Town Clerk and makes it difficult for members of the public to receive
the regular services of the Town Clerk, the Records Access Officer is hereby
authorized to establish hours during each day when he shall process requests
for records, including the times when such requests shall be made in order
to enable him to find the records for review and copying. The times so established
by the Records Access Officer shall be conspicuously posted in the office
of the Town Clerk.
The Records Access Officer is authorized to copy any records which are
within the purview of the law and to charge $0.25 per page 8 1/2 x 11
inches in size and $0.35 per page 8 1/2 x 15 inches in size. No records
shall be reproduced until payment is first received.
No records shall be removed from the lawful custody of any public officer
charged with the duty of maintaining such records.
In the event any requests cannot be met because such records are being
used for current working purposes, the applicant shall be advised of such
fact and every effort will be made to arrange a specific time when such records
will be available.
In the event that a question arises as to the nature of the records,
in that public viewing of such records may result in an unwarranted invasion
of a citizen's personal privacy or may result in a disclosure of material
that must be confidential to promote effective law enforcement or for any
other reasons which, in the opinion of the Records Access Officer, are valid
to promote the public interest while consistent with the new law, the Records
Access Officer shall confer with the Town Attorney before determining if such
records shall be made available for inspection.
In the event that any person is denied access to any public records
in violation of the law, that person shall advise the Town Board of such denial
in writing and set forth the records requested, the reason for denial and
the fact that the fees for such records were, in fact, tendered.
The purpose of these regulations shall be to maintain the spirit of
the law and to recognize that the concept of open records is consistent with
the purpose of this Board.
